Pain Series: Understanding Chronic Pain
Wednesday, November 20th from Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Anjen Sen, MD
This talk will provide a summary of our present day knowledge about chronic pain and how it affects us. Dr. Sen has over 40
years experience in neurosurgery and pain management and currently works at Kadlec Neuroscience Center in Richland, WA.
Please RSVP by November 12th: (509) 737-3427 or online at www.tccancer.org
A Survivor's Tale
By Annabeth Guzman, Delta High School Intern
Michael Novakovich, Tri-Cities Cancer Center
Beating the odds...if you played them.
A few moments talking to the ever positive Steve
Burnum about cancer and you will quickly realize he
doesn't play the odds. In fact, he doesn't buy into them
at all. According to Steve, "If you have seen one cancer...
then you have seen one cancer." He went on to explain
that each person is unique and our bodies are attacked
by, and work to fight cancer in a very individualized
manor. One person's experience and outcome in no way
is a predictor of what another person might experience.
According to Steve, the key to beating cancer is, "You
have to stay in good health: mentally, spiritually,
emotionally and physically." Steve went on to say, "You
have to listen to your body. Your body will talk to
you." Just like when he was sitting in his office on that
fateful day when something told him to feel his clavicle.
Although he had never smoked, he exercised daily and
he ate healthy...he had just discovered an enlarged
lymph node the size of a golf ball. Following a biopsy,
Steve was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. In fact,
the cancer had metastasized to his brain (five tumors)
and had spread throughout his chest.
Refusing to let someone else's experience define his
destiny Steve has accomplished the unimaginable. He
is living life. And we mean living! Steve is quick to note
that it is not easy. He is still under treatment and he
gets tired quickly. In the same breath he will tell you
this doesn't slow him down. Steve sees his diagnosis
as a blessing in disguise. It brought his family closer
together. Specifically, it strengthened his relationship
with his daughter, Kristen.
Steve's cancer journey begins.
Following his diagnosis, Steve needed to find an oncologist.
It was recommended he search out Dr. Rado of Columbia
Basin Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Rado confirmed
the diagnosis and connected Steve with Tri-Cities Cancer
Center as the tumors in Steve's brain required radiation
treatment. Steve recognized that CBHO was an affiliate
partner of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), a
consortium of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,
University of Washington Medical and Children's Seattle
(Tri-Cities Cancer Center recently joined as an SCCA
affiliate). Wanting the very best treatment and care, Steve
coordinated a trip to SCCA. What he discovered after
seeking the medical opinion of a SCCA physician was,
the Tri-Cities possesses the same treatment options,
equipment, and physicians with the same level of skill as
any team he would see in Seattle. Additionally, he could
avoid the stressors of undergoing treatment in a big city.
Instead he could stay at home, surrounded by his family
and be all the healthier by doing so. Not to mention, his
radiation therapy and chemotherapy all took place under
the same roof at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center campus.
Steve met with his radiation oncologist at the Tri-Cities
Cancer Center and asked, "When do we start?" He
explained that he needed to be done with both radiation
and chemotherapy by July 14th, as this is the day he
would be walking his daughter down the aisle. The
challenge was, July 14th was less than a month away!
Steve created a schedule of treatment that he presented